Mary Fawzy

Mary Fawzy is an Egyptian food writer and recipe developer based in Cape Town. She is interested in the intersection of food, politics and history. As an immigrant, she develops recipes from her culture, using local ingredients and sometimes trades at various food markets in Cape Town. She also uses her blog to promote restaurants that offer African and immigrant cuisines/are Black-owned/serve food from the Global South.

Q & A with Mary

1. SA POC at the Table is an important collective for working against the exclusion of people of colour in the food industry. It is a network that helps us find each other, communicate and offer support. My hope is that this platform helps us promote African food and knowledge, support farm workers and labourers, and work against the elitism and euro-centrism of the South African food industry.
2. I admire food writers, Ishay Govender and Yolisa Qunta. These women write incisive, critical and beautiful pieces. I love reading their words and learn so much from them.
3. Transformation in the food industry will happen when we acknowledge the colonial legacy and inequality in the country, and work to dismantle that. We need to value our own narratives, foods, knowledge and labour.
4. I’m proud of my decision to make a career shift and pursue the two things I love: food and writing. I love reading and writing about food, history, culture and gender. I also love reading cookbooks as literature. I’m looking to publish more work and become a full-time freelance writer.

My blog is at purpleturnips.com or find me on Instagram @purple_turnips. I’m always open to hearing ideas and thoughts from fellow food thinkers.